White Earth Reservation tribal college plants a farm, hopes for food independence

MAHNOMEN, MINN. - Hours after a parade ends marking the White Earth Tribal and Community College's 25th anniversary, Robert Shimek is standing near some squash in a field, marveling at a bumblebee crawling into a blossom.

"Oh, that's a great big one," said Shimek, an extension employee with the college. "That tells you the soil is healthy."

Behind Shimek rises heirloom corn, stretching up to 9 feet in the September sky. On a platform, another staffer has plucked four juicy watermelons for wild rice camp this late summer weekend. And green vetch and field peas - a cover crop - sprout over black dirt.

https://www.startribune.com/white-earth-reservation-tribal-college-plants-a-farm-hopes-for-food-independence/600207715/